Self-supporting structural units having a three-dimensional surface have been used for thousands of years to enclose space for various specified purposes and activities, the most familiar form of such self-supporting structural units being a building designed and constructed to stand more or less permanently, and covering an area of land, for use as a dwelling, an office building, a warehouse, an enclosure for the holding of public or governmental functions, or for other useful purposes and activities.
When such self-supporting structural units are regular or are conventional in conformation or are developable in configuration, such as a cube, or a prism, or a cylinder, or a cone, or truncated portions of such units, etc., the design, fabrication and the construction of such units is relatively simple and uncomplicated.
However, when it is desired that such self-supporting structural units be irregular or non-conventional in conformation, or are non-developable in configuration, the design, fabrication and the construction thereof is not quite as simple or uncomplicated.
One such type of building construction for making a non-developable three-dimensional surface is noted in U.S. Pat. No. 2,682,235 which issued on June 29, 1954 and which relates to a building framework of somewhat generally hemi-spherical form. Such type of building framework has been used in commerce and industry but its applicability is limited severely by the fact that its basic principles are suitable only for buildings of a generally hemi-spherical or like shape, which is merely one form of a non-developable three-dimensional surface.
For example, its basic principles are not applicable to three-dimensional shapes which are ellipsoidal, ovaloidal, paraboloidal, elliptic paraboloidal, hyperboloidal, hyperbolic paraboloidal, regular or irregular surfaces of revolution, ruled surfaces, and various other three-dimensional surfaces which have many and varied interesting and unusual applications. And, its principles are similarly not applicable to shapes which are more or less irregular in curvature or conformation, such as, for example, the hull of a ship.
Other self-supporting structural units or other geometrical configurations having three-dimensional surfaces are disclosed in my earlier U.S. Pat. No. 3,407,558 which issued on Oct. 29, 1968. However, there is always a need for continued improvement and for further development in such a field.